Elevator door



April 22, 1924. 1,491,618

R. s. PEELLE ELEVATOR DOOR Filed Dec. 13, 1922 2 Sheets-Sheet 1 1 Illlllll WIN 11 n: 1 t

April 22, 1924.

1,491,618 R.S.PEELLE' ELEVATOR DOOR 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 13 L922m uawfo a Patented Apr. 22, 1924.

ATENT pm? v ROBERT S. PEEL-LE, OF HOLLIS, NEW YORK, N. Y., AS SIGNOB TOTHE PEELLE COM- ?AI\TY, OF BROOKLYN, HEW YORK, A CORPORATION OF NEWYCRK.

ELEVATOR DOOR.

Application filed December 13, 1922., Serial No. 606,721.-

To all whom it may concern: 7

Be. it known that I, ROBERT S. PEELLE, a citizen of the United States,residing at Hollis, in the borough of Queens, city of New York, countyof Queens, and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Elevator Doors, of which the following is aspecification, reference being had therein to the accompanying drawings,which form a part thereof.

My invention relates to elevator doors, and more particularly to doorsof the pass type wherein a door, or door section, closing a shaftopening at one floor will, when closed, occupy a position close to thewall of the shaft about the opening, and in its vertical opening :orclosing movement will be so guided as to have a horizontal component ofmovement away from or towards the shaft, so that during its openingmovement it may, in part, pass or lap a portion of a closed door at theopening ofthe next floor of the building.

Heretofcre there has been devised and extensively used. a door of .thistype embodying therein a single rail structure extending continuouslythrough a' shaft, which structure carries an automatically acting switchmechanism for imparting the den sired movements to a door, or to a doorsection, and while such doors have operated satisfactorily, the openingand closing of the doors has been attended with considerable noise as aresult of the engagement of a rapidly moving door with the automaticallyacting switch mechanisms. thermore. such switch mechanisms requireconsiderable attention to keep them properly oiled, and in someinstances such mechanisms have broken while in use, thus interferingwith the operation ofthe doors until the broken parts have beenreplaced.

With the above conditions in mind, I have devised an elevator door ofthe pass type, wherein neither the rail structure, nor the guidesco-operating therewith, require any movement aside from movement of adoor or door section, to impart the desired horizontal component ofmovement to the door or door section, thus eliminating all noise ofmoving parts when actuating a door. and obviating the necessity for anyattention to an elevator door installation other than that required byordinary doors of the vertically sliding type.

Fur-

short length above referred to, but spaced therefrom within the shaft,said short and said long rail lengths being connected by obliquelyextending rail lengths. The long rail lengths have gaps therein adjacentthe lintel and the sill of each door opening to permit guide shoes whichare normally disengaged from this portion of the guide rail, to passinto and from. engagement there with, this gap being occupied by aswitch mechanism composed solely of immovable parts, co-operating withthe guide shoes above referred to, for imparting the desired movement tosaid shoes and to the portion 7 of the door adjacent same, into andout'of engagement. with said long lengths of guide rai V Associated witheachsaid switch mecha nism is a short supplemental guide rail adjacentthe sill or the lintel of each door, or both, which is adapted tobeengaged by the guide shoe co-operating with the switch mechanism whenthe door is approaching or is in the closed position, the part of thisrail section engaged by the shoe when the door is closed being insubstantially the same vertical plane" as the short length of the mainguide rail. Said supplemental guide rail has an inwardly inclinedsection extending substantially parallel with the oblique section of themain guide rail for giving the desired horizontal component of movementto the portion of the door adjacent the sill or lintel, This short guiderail length will also serve to help hold the door close to the wall ofthe shaft when in the closed position, and the inclined section thereofwill direct the movement of the door inwardly of the shaft and towardsthe switch mechanism immediately following the initial opening movementthereof.

.One of the guide shoes of each door or door section must be soconstructed as to cooperate with the main rail structure, the

supplemental guide rail structure, and the switch mechanism, so as toensure the automatic engagement and disengagement of installation, butmay be conveniently modified while being installed, or while beingassembled in the shop, to compensate for the variance in the distancesbetween floors of different buildings or in the same building.Furthermore, the switch mechanism r normal functioning of the door.

may be made of cast metal, thus ensuring accuracy in the guide flangesthereon, and uniformity in all such switch mechanisms so as to permitthe standardization of the structure, and thus simplify both theproduction and the installation of the elevator door equipment.

The rail structure as installed will have the various guide railsthereon accurately positioned and immovable in relation to each other,thus presenting a single continuous unitary construction, the variousparts of which are subject to but slight wear, and cannot becomedisarranged or broken in lt ge e switch mechanism and the guide shoescooperating therewith are so formed as to ensure merely a sliding impactbetween these shoes and the co-operating parts of the guide railstructure and switch mechanism,

thus contributing toward a substantially noiseless operation of thedoor, as well as materially reducing wear, and avoiding likelihood ofbreakage of parts.

The main guide, and the supplemental guide rails and the co-operatingguide shoes upon the door are so formed as to hold the door in closeproximity to the wall of the shaft when in the closed position, thusreducing fire hazard.

The trucking feature and the overhanging astragal, while desirable in adoor embodying my invention, were not per se invented by me, merelyforming parts of the combination hereinafter described.

In a structure embodying my invention, both of the shoes upon each door,or sec tion, are continuously engaged with some portion of the guiderail structure, thus ensuring absolute control of the door, or each ofits sections, at all times during either its opening, or closing,movement.

The invention consists primarily in an elevator door embodying therein avertically movable section, guide rail structures extending verticallyof a shaft along opposite sides of the door opening, each consisting ofa main guide rail having a short rail length parallel with the wall of ashaft,

' a long rail length parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within theshaft, and an oblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide railconsisting of a short rail length arranged on the same vertical plane asthe short rail length of said main rail, and an oblique sectionextending substantiallyparallel with the oblique length of the mainrail, said long rail length of the main rail having a gap formed thereinadjacent said supplemental guide rail, and a switch mechanism arrangedin said gap and fixed in relation to said main and said supplementalguide rail, and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottom of said door ateach side thereof, one of said guide shoes co-operating with theadjacent supplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and long length ofguide rail beyond said gap only, and the other of said guide shoes onthe same side of the door co-operating with the adjacent main guide railonly; and in such other novel features of construction and combinationof parts asare hereinafter set forth and described, and moreparticularly pointed vout in the claims hereto appended.

Referring to the drawings,

Fig. 1 is a condensed view in elevation from within an elevator shaft,showing an elevator door structure embodying my invention;

Fig. 2 is a view of the rail structure at one side of the door opening,with a door structure consisting of two oppositely movable sectionsshowntherein in dotted lines;

Fig. 3 is a front view of a casting forming a part of the rail structureand switch mechanism;

Fig. 4: is a side view thereof;

Fig. 5 is a front view of the guide shoe carried by a door section andco-operating with the switch mechanism, the supplemental guide rail anda portion of the main guide rail;

Fig. 6 is a side view thereof;

Fig. 7 is a view similar to Fig. 5 showing the guide shoe co-operatingwith the main guide rail only; and

Fig. 8 is a side view thereof.

Like letters refer to like parts throughout the several views.

In the embodiment of my invention shown in the drawings, A indicatesthat wall of an elevator shaft towards the floors of a building, itbeing a practice in such shafts to have a series of vertically alineddoor openings therein, one at each floor. At B I have indicated the sillof one such door opening, at C the lintel of said opening and at D onejamb thereof.

In the drawings, I have shown a portion of the rail structure adjacentone door opening only, it being understood that this structure extendsvertically throughout the shaft, the part thereof adjacent each openingbeing the same as that adjacent every other opening, so as to provide acontinuous rail structure throughout the shaft.

It is also apparent that if desired a pass type door need not be used toclose every door opening, this type of door being necessary only wherethe space between floors is insutficient to receive the door or doorsection closing the openings at an adjacent floor.

Fireproof freight elevator doors are usually formed of two sectionsindicated at E and F in the drawings, so connected as to cause saidsections to move vertically in opposite directions when openingorclosing the door, the connection between the door sections, shown at Gin the drawings, passing over a pulley or sheave H, the axis of which isparallel to the wall of the shaft having the door opening therein.

This connection is made upon each side of a door, one end of eachconnection being secured to a bracket I- adjacent the bottom bar of theframe of the lower door section, the other end of said connection beingsecured to a hanger bar J connected to the lower door section adjacentthe top bar or its frame.

This construction of door is old and well known in this art.

The lower section F is provided with a projecting plate, indicated indotted lines at K in Fig. 2 01 the drawings, which forms a part of thetrucking feature of the door, and the section E is provided with aprojecting angular astragal L adapted to co-operate with said bar K inclosing any gap along the meeting line of the two door sections.

Since the means embodying the rail struc ture carried by the two doorsections is the same upon opposite sides of each door opening, in myfurther description of the in vention I will limit myself to anexplanation of the details as they exist upon one side of the dooropenings only, it being understood that this mechanism is duplicatedupon the other side. In the drawings, duplicate reference letters areapplied to corresponding parts upon opposite sides of the door, it beingunderstood that, particularly as to the guide shoes and switchmechanism, the corresponding parts upon one side of the door arereversed upon the opposite side, these parts being made right and leftby reason of their difierent relations to the guide rail structures uponopposite sides or" the door.

The guide rail structure is composed of a wall angle consisting ofabutting sections of angle iron, one flange a of which is se- 0 .red tothe wall of the shaft closely adjacent the line of the janib or" thedoor openings, and the other flange a or" which projects within theshaft. arried by this wall angle (zcz is a main guide rail structure,which extends throughout substantially the entire height of all the dooropenings in the shaft, and a supplemental guide rail structure andsuitable switches adjacent the sill and the lintel of each door opening,the construction adjacent each'door opening being the same as thatadjacent every other door opening.

I have in the drawings shown merely that portion of the structureadjacent one door opening, it-being understood that the main guide railadjacent one doorextends into, and forms a part of, the main guide railstructure adjacent the adjoining door opening, the portion of this railco-operating with the upper section of the door at one opening alsoco-operating with the lower door section at the door opening immediatelyabove, and the rail co-operating with the otherand lower door sectionalso co-operating with the upper door section at the door openingimmediately below.

The main guide rail consists of a short rail length 6 extending parallelwith the wall of a shaft at substantially the meeting point of the doorsections E and F, and above and below this meeting point for a shortdistance, a long rail'length 0 parallel with said short raillength, butspaced therefrom within the shaft and terminating above said short raillength, and an oblique connecting rail length (i, said rail lengths 0and 62 being located between the length 6 and the lintel of the dooropening. A corresponding long, rail length 6 and a corresponding obliqueconnecting'rail length are located below said rail length I) and towardthe sill of the door opening. The rail length 0 is in substantialalinement with the rail len th 6 adjacent the door opening above thatshown, while the rail length 6 is in substantial alinement with the raillength 0 at the opening immediately below that shown, so as to form" asubstantially continuous main guide rail structure throughout the shaft.The long lengths of said main guide rail adjacent the sill and adjacentthe lintel of each door opening, are spacedapart to form a gap 9 toreceive the switch mechanism adjacent the sill and the lintel of eachdoor opening, which mechanism will be more fully described hereinafter.

The flange a of the wall angle is cut away at a so that the inner edgethereof follows the line of the short rail length I) and the obliquerail lengths d and 7 so as to permit the necessary movement of thebrackets I and the hanger bar J, which parts extend across the edgeofthe wall angle, but must have a horizontal component of movement withthe door sections during the opening and closing movement thereof.

Adjacent the lintel of each door opening is a supplemental railstructure consisting of a short rail length happroximating one-half thelength of the short rail length I) and arranged in the same verticalplane therewith, and an oblique section 2' extending substantiallyparallel with the oblique section d and substantially co-terminous withthe long rail length 6.

A similar supplemental rail section consisting of a rail lengthcorresponding in construction and arrangement with the rail length 72.,but adjacent the sill of a door opening, and an oblique section similarto the section 71, substantially parallel with the oblique rail length fand co-terminous with the rail length 6 is also employed. One of saidsupplemental rail sections co-operates with the lower door section, andthe other with the upper door section.

The switch mechanism for an upwardly movable door, or section, consistsof short rail length m positioned beyond the end of the rail length 0and extendin in substantial alinement with the section a of thesupplemental guide rail structure. The switch referred to is thatlocated above and adjacent the lintel C or" the door. The switch. for adownwardly movable door. or section. is located below and adjacent thesill B and consists of a short rail length n positioned below the end ofthe long rail length 6 and extending in substantial alinement with thesection 70 of the lower supplemental guide rail structure. The raillength m at one door opening is associated with a rail length n at theopening immediately above, it being possible to bring these two lengthstogether, although for convenience they are spaced apart and aconnecting short rail length 0 is employed, the length of which may bevaried according to the distance between the lintel of the door openingat one floor and the sill of the opening at the floor immediately above.The short length 0 is connected directly to the flange 0; of the wallangle.

The construction or" switch described is employed because in the openingand 010s ing or" doors at adjacent floor levels, the upper section ofone door crosses the plane of movement of the lower section of the doorimmediately above, and the lower section of one door crosses the planeof movement of the upper door section at the opening immediately below,thus necessitating a detached switch member co-operating with thesupplemental rail section, but spaced away therefrom sufiiciently topermit the passage of the shoes of a section of one door when thuscrossing the plane of movement of a section of another door.

Preferably the supplemental rail structure and the end portion of thelong rail length adjacent thereto, as well as the short rail length m,are formed of a single casting, thus ensuring the proper relation ofthese parts and avoiding the necessity for special and accurateworkmanship and fitting of parts in forming these various parts fordifferent door openings.

l en each side bar or each door section are two guide shoes, one ofwhich, p, is adapted to co-operate with the supplemental guide railstructure, the switch mechanism and a portion of the long rail length ofthe main guide rail associated with an adjacent door opening, and theother of which, q, is adapted to co-operate with a portion of the shortrail length Z), one oblique portion d or f and the long rail length 0 or6 adjacent the opening closed by the door carrying said shoe. The guideshoe 2) on the door section E is therefore located adjacent the top barof the frame of this section, while the guide shoe is adjacent thebottom bar of the frame thereof, this positioning of the guide shoesbeing reversed as to the door section F.

The shoe 7) has two oppositely disposed flanges 79 and p thereon spacedapart to receive the guide rail between same. The faces of these flangespresented towards each other, are so shaped as to reduce the contactarea to a minimum, and at the same time provide oppositely flaredopenings in the shoe as shown, to ensure the engagement anddisengagement of the shoe when passing to and from the supplementalguide rail structure to the main guide rail structure through the mediumof the switch mechanism.

The flange p is extended in the direction of movement of the shoe towardthe switch mechanism, while the flange p is extended beyond the flange pin the direction of movement of the shoe from the main guide rail to thesupplemental guide rail through the medium of such switch mechanism. Thetop and bottom of each flange is brought to an edge as shown, the endsof the oblique section 2', the short rail lengths m and n, and the endsof the long rail lengths c and e also being reduced to an edge so as toavoid an end impact of the guide shoes and the rail lengths during themovement of the shoe in either direction.

The flange p is so positioned that when closing the door it will passbetween the supplemental guide rail and the wall of the shaft, while theflange 79 is so positioned as to pass between the main guide rail andthe supplemental guide rail under like conditions. Both flanges areinclined in the same direction, obliquely to the path of verticalmovement. of the door, and project from the door to an extent to ensurethe engagement of one of these flanges with some portion of the guiderail structure, either main or supplemental, or switch, prior to thedisengagement of the other flange with some other portion of said guiderail or switch.

Since the shoe co-operates solely with the main guide rail, it is merelynecessary to provide similar flanges q and 9 upon opposite sides of thisshoe, and to so form the walls of said flanges presented toward eachother that they are adapted to engage both the vertical sections of themain guide rail and the oblique section connecting said verticalsections. Preferably, I provide said flanges g and g with surfaces 9 and9 parallel with each other, and with opposite surfaces leading therefromindicated at g and 9 the former of which surfaces will engage thevertical sections b and 0 or b' and e, and the latter of which willengage the oblique sections d or f.

The ends of the guide rail lengths c or e adjacent each gap in the mainguide rail are bowed slightly as shown in Fig. 4, to accommodate theflange p which may have a slight movement toward said rail length afterits initial engagement with the sup; plemental rail length i or k.

In the accompanying drawings, I have shown what is known as a flameangle r along opposite sides of each door section, which flanges whenthe door is in the closed position, will fit close to the wall of theshaft or to the flange a of the wall angle, but are of a depth to passthe edges of the guide rails with the movement of the door toward orfrom the wall of the shaft.

Secured to the wall flange a of each guide rail structure are stops 8adapted to be engaged by the hanger bar J when the door is in the fullyopen position, so as to hold the reinforced top of this sectionsubstantially flush with the sill B.

The lower section F is provided with a flame angle and toe guard t ofthe usual construction.

The guide rail structure and co-operating guide shoes upon the doorsections may be used in connection with full counterbalanced,semi-automatic, or full automatic doors, the manner of actuating thedoors having no modifying effect in the functioning of said guide railsand said shoes.

The operation of the herein described mechanism is substantially asfollows:

WVhen a door is in the closed position, as shown more particularly indotted lines in Fig. 2, the shoe 9 of the upper section will be engagedwith a portion of the short rail length I), and the shoe p will beengaged with the short length it of the supplemental guide railstructure, thus holding the door section close to the wall of theelevator shaft. With the initial opening movement of the door, the uppersection will, for a short distance, move in a vertical plane only, untilthe flanges p and g of the guide shoes of said section ride upon theoblique rail lengths (Z and 2' respectively, whereupon the verticalmovement will receive a horizontal component until the shoe 9 passesonto the rail length a, and the shoe ;0 has passed the switch members mn/0 and engaged the rail section 6 adjacent the door upon the adjoiningfloor. In passing from the'rail length It to the length i, the flange19* will act upon said rail length i, the flange p merely following theopposite surface of said raillength.

By reason of the fact that the flange p projects beyond the flange p andis laterally deflected with relation to the vertical center line of thedoor, or to the wall of a shaft, the forwardly projecting end of saidflange 10 will engage the short rail length m of the switch while theoppositely projecting end of the flange p is still in engagement withthe rail length 2', thus en-' suring the engagement of one flange-of theshoe with the length m before the other flange has been disengaged fromthe supplemental guide rail. Before the flange p has passed out ofengagement with the switch on or -0, the flange p of that shoe movementof the door inwardly of the shaft.

will have engaged the part m, thus limiting Furthermore, the flange pwill simultaneously engage the rail lengths z and m and the rail lengths'n and c with the same lim-' iting effect. After the flange 19 haspassed from the rail length m and the short rail length 0, when such isused, it may have a shghtreturn movement as a result of the engagementof the flange p with the short rail length 11., but this return movementwill be checked as a result of the engagement of the flange p withthe'end of the long rail length e immediately above.

This movement of the upper door section will be the same with every doorin a shaft, the switch-mechanism, however, acting not only with relationto the upper door section of one door, but with relation to the lowerdoor section of the door next above, each of these doorswhen operatedcrossing the plane of movement of the other door when it is operating.

The lower door section will have exactly the same movements as the upperdoor section, except that it will move downwardly instead of upwardly,the shoe 9 upon this section passing from the short rail length I) alongthe oblique rail length f onto the vertically extending rail length 6.The shoe p will pass along the short rail length jof the supplementalrail structure and the oblique portion is thereof until theprojectingend of the flange p engages the short rail length n, thuscausing the shoe 9 to pass over the switch mechanism until said flange pthereof engages theend of the rail length 0 at the floor next below.During the closing movement of the door the operation will be thereverse of that described. In fact the movement of the shoes 79 uponeach door section will be exactly the same as that upon the other, sincethe parts are reversed, the

reversal of parts, however, being compensated for by the fact that thedoors themselves move in opposite directions.

It will be observed that while each door section is guided in itsopening and closing movements by a structure composed of stationaryguide rails spaced apart as to some portions thereof to form gaps, thatthe different portions of said rails and the switch mechanism are sopositioned with relation to each other as to permit a free slidingmovement of the guide shoes of the door from one of the portions thereofto the other without impact or jar, thus ensuring not only perfect easein the operation of the door, but avoiding the noise of moving parts andlikelihood of breakage of any of the parts irrespective of the speed atwhich the door sections are moved.

It will also be observed that while the shoe in its movements must passthe gaps in the guide rail and switch mechanism with which itco-operates, that the construct-ion of theshoe is such that the effectsecured is, nevertheless, that of a continuous ide rail, notwithstandingthe presence of these gaps, the purpose of which is to permit differentdoor sections to cross the plane of movement of another door section,such movement, however, being of necessity at different intervals.Hence, while the short rail length and the oblique sections of the mainguide rail co-operate only with the doors at one opening in a shaft, thelong rail lengths, more remote from the wall of the shaft, may and doserve to guide sections of doors at different openings.

The arrangement of the pulley or sheave with its axis parallel to thewall of the shaft permits the horizontal component of movement in eachof the door sections without limiting the vertical movement thereof.

It is not my intention to limit the invention to the precise details ofconstruction shown in the accompanying drawings, it being apparent thatsuch may be varied without departing from the spirit and scope of theinvention.

Having described the invention, what I claim as new and desire to haveprotected by Letters Patent, is

1. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of' a shaft along oppositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail having ashort rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and. spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail, and an oblique section extendingsubstantially parallel with the oblique length of the main rail, saidlong rail length of the main rail having a gap formed therein adjacentsaid supplemental guide rail, and a switch mechanism arranged in saidgap and fixed in relation to said main and said supplemental guide rail,and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottom of said door at each sidethereof, one of said guide shoes cooperating with the adjacentsupplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and long length of guide railbeyond said gap only, and the other of said guide shoes on the same sideof the door co-operating only with the adjacent main guide rail.

2. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sections, guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaftupon opposite sides of each door opening in the shaft, each consistingof a main guide rail having a short rail length parallel with the wallof the shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith and soaccd therefromwithin the shaft and tern'iinating adjacent the sill and the lintel ofthe door opening respectively, and oblique connecting rail lengths,supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill and the lintel of thedooropenin each consisting of a short rail length arranged in the samevertical plane as the short rail length of said main rail, and anoblique section extending substantially parallel with the adjacentoblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths of the .t

main rail at each door opening being spaced away from the lon raillengths at adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in said mainrail between adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms arranged insaid gaps respectively, and fir-:ed in relation to said main and saidsupplemental guide rails, and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottom ofeach of said door sec tions at each side thereof, the upper guide shoeof one of said sections and the lower guide. shoe of the other of saidsections, cooperating only with the adjacent supplemental guide rail,switch mechanism and a long length of guide rail at an adjacent dooropening beyond said gap, and the other guide shoe on the same side ofeach of said door sections co-operating only with the adjacent mainguide rail.

3. An elevator door embody 3g therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along oppositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail having ashort rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail,

and oblique section extending substantially parallel with the obliquelength of the main rail, said long rail length of the main rail having agap formed therein adjacent said supplemental guide rail, and a switchmechanism including therein a short rail length in said gap extending insubstantial alinement with the end of the oblique section of saidsupplemental guide rail, and between same and the end of said long raillength of the main guide rail at an adjacent door opening, and guideshoes adjacent the top and bottom of said door at each side thereof, oneof said guide shoes co-operating with the adjacent supplemental guiderail, switch mechanism and long length of guide rail beyond said gaponly, and the other of said guide shoes on the same side of the doorco-operating only with the adjacent main guide rail.

4. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along oppositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail having ashort rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supple.- mental guide rail consistingof a short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail, and an oblique section extendingsubstantially parallel with the oblique length of the main rail, saidlong rail length of the main rail having a gap formed therein adjacentsaid supplemental guide rail, and a switch mechanism including thereintwo short rail lengths in said gap extending in substantial alinementwith the end of said oblique section of said supplemental guide rail,and the oblique section of a supplemental guide rail at an adjacent dooropening, and between said oblique sections respectively, and theadjacent ends of said long rail lengths of the main guide rail at saidadjacent door openings respectively, and guide shoes adjacent the topand bottom of said door at each side thereof, one of said guide shoesco-operating with the adj acent supplemental guide rail, switchmechanism and long length of guide rail beyond said gap only, and theother of said guide shoes on the same side of the door co-operating onlywith the adjacent main guide rail.

5. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sections, guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaftupon opposite sides of each door opening in a shaft, each consisting ofa main guide rail having a short rail length parallel with the wall ofthe shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith and spaced therefromwithin the shaft and terminating adjacent the sill and the lintel of thedoor opening respectively, and oblique connect ing rail lengths,supplemental guide rails door openings, and switch mechanisms includingtherein respectively two short ra l lengths in said gap extending insubstantial alinement with the end of sa-id'oblique section of saidsupplemental guide rail, and the oblique section of a supplemental guiderail at an adjacent door opening, and be tween said oblique sectionsrespectively, and the adjacent ends of said long rail lengths of themain guide rail at said adjacent door openings respectively, and guideshoes adjacent the top and bottom of each of said door sections at eachside thereof, the upper guide shoe of one or" said sections and thelower guide shoe of the other of said sections, cooperating only withthe adjacent supplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and a longlengthof guide rail at anoadjacent door opening beyond said and theother guide shoe on the same side of each of said door sectionsco-operating only with the ad acent main guide rail.

6. An elevator door embodying therein a V vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along oppositesides of" the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail havinga short rail length parallel with the wall ofthe shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail, and an oblique section extendingsubstantially parallel with the oblique length of the main rail, saidlong rail length o-f the main rail having a gap formed therein adjacentsaid supplementalguide rail, and a switch mechanism including thereintwo short rail lengths in said gap extending in substantial alinementwith the end of said oblique section of said supplemental guide rail,and the oblique section of arsupplemental guide rail at an adjacent dooropening, and between said oblique sections respectively, and theadjacent ends of said long rail lengths of the main guide rail at saidadjacent door openings respectively, and a short rail length parallelwith said long rail lengths respectively,positioned between the obliquerail lengths of said switch tions, guide rail structures extendingvertic-ally of a shaft upon opposite sides of each door opening in theshaft, each consisting of a main guide rail having a short rail lengthparallel with the wall of the shaft, long rail lengths paralleltherewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft and terminating adjacentthe sill and the lintel of the door opening respectively, and obliqueconnecting rail lengths, supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill andthe lintel of the door opening, each consisting of a short rail lengtharranged on the same vertical plane as the short rail length of saidmain rail, and an oblique section extending substantially parallel withthe adjacent oblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengthsof the main rail at each door opening being spaced away from the longrail lengths at adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in saidmain rail between adjacent door openings, and switch mechanismsincluding therein respectively two short rail lengths in said gap,extending in substantial alinement with the end of said oblique sectionof said supplemental guide rail, and the oblique section of asupplemental guide rail at an adjacent door opening, and between saidoblique sections respectively, and the adjacent ends of said long raillengths of the main guide rail at said adjacent door openingsrespectively, and a short rail length parallel with said long raillengths respectively, positioned between the oblique rail lengths ofsaid switch mechanism, and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottom ofeach of said door sections at each side thereof, the upper guide shoe ofone of said sections and the lower guide shoe of the other of saidsections co-operating only with the adjacent supplemental guide rail,switch mechanism and a long length of guide rail at an adjacent dooropening beyond 7 said gap, and the other guide shoe on the same side ofeach of said door sections co-operating only with the adjacent mainguide rail.

8. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along opositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail having ashort rail length parallel with the wall of a shaft, a long rail lengthparallel therewith and parallel with said stantially parallel with thespaced therefrom within the shaft, and an oblique connecting raillength, a supplemental guide rail consisting of a short rail lengtharranged on the same vertical plane as the short rail length of saidmain rail, and an oblique section extending substantially parallel withthe oblique length of the main rail, said long rail length of the mainrail having a gap formed therein adjacent saidsupplcmental guide rail,and a switch mechanism arranged in said gap and fixed in relation tosaid main and said supplemental guide rail, guide shoe a each side ofsaid door section co-operating with the adjacent supplemental guiderail, switch mechanism and long len th of guide rail beyond said gaponly, and a second guide shoe cc-operating only with the adjacent mainguide rail, consisting of oppositely disposed spaced guide flangeshaving surfaces thereon short and said long rail surfaces thereonsuboblique sections connecting said long and said short rail engths.

9. an elevator door embodying therein a Ylically movable section, guiderail structures extending vertically of a shaft along lengths, andspaced vop csite sides of the door opening, each conwh of a main guiderail having a short 1 ugth parallel with the wall of a shaft, a longrail length parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft,and an oblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide railconsisting of a short rail length arranged on the sane vertical plane asthe short rail length of said main rail, and an oblique sectionextending substantially parallel with the oblique length of the mainrail, said long rail length of the main rail having a gap formed thereinadjacent said supplemental guide rail, and a switch mechanism arrangedin said gap and fixed in relation to said main and said supplementalguide rail, a guide shoe at each side of said door section co-operatingwith the adjacent supplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and longlength of guide rail beyond said gap, consisting of oppositely disposedflanges spaced apart to receive said supplemental guide rail, saidflanges being respectively inclined obliquely to the vertical with theopposite ends thereof projecting in opposite directions and extendedbeyond the end of the other flange to a position to ensure theengagement of one of said flanges with said switch mechanism and themain or the supplemental guide rail. according to the direction ofmovement of the door, and second guide shoe on each side of the doorsection eo-operating only with the adjacent main guide rail.

10. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of ashaft along oppositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail having ashort rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail, and an oblique section extendingsubstantially parallel with the oblique length of the main rail, saidlong rail length of the main rail having a gap formed therein adjacentsaid supplemental guide rail, and a switch mechanism arranged in saidgap and fixed in rela tion to said main and said supplemental guiderail, a guide shoe at each side of said door section co-operating withthe adjacent supplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and long lengthof guide rail beyond said gap, consisting of oppositely disposed flangesspaced apart to receive said supplemental guide rail, said flanges beingrespectively inclined obliquely to the vertical with the opposite endsthereof projecting in opposite directions and extended beyond the end ofthe other flange to a position to ensure the engagement of one of saidflanges with said switch mechanism and the main or the supplementalguide rail, according to the direction of movement of the door, and asecond guide shoe on each side of the door section consisting ofoppositely disposed spaced guide ranges having surfaces thereon parallelwith said short and said long rail lengths, and spaced surfaces thereonsubstantially parallel with the oblique sections connecting said longand said short rail lengths.

11. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along oppositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail havin ashort rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail lengtharranged in the same vertical plane as the short raillength of said main rail, and an oblique section extending substantiallyparallel with the oblique length of the main rail, said long rail lengthof the main rail having a gap formed therein adjacent said supplementalguide rail, and a switch mechanism arranged in said gap and fixed inrelation to said main and said supplemental uide rail, a guide shoe ateach side of said door section co-operating with the adjacentsupplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and long length of guide railbeyond said gap, consisting of oppositely disposed flanges spaced apartto receive said supplemental guide rail, said flanges being respectivelyinclined obliquely to the vertical with the opposite ends thereofprojecting in opposite directions and extended beyond the end of theother flange to a position to ensure the engagement of one of saidflanges with said switch mechanism and the main or the supplementalguide rail, according to the direction of movement of the door, and asecond guide shoe on each side of the door section co-operating onlywith the adj acent main guide rail, the ends of the flanges upon saidfirst named guide shoes, and the co-operating ends of said main and saidsupplemental guide rails, being reduced in thickness.

12. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sections, guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaftupon opposite sides of each door opening in the shaft, each consistingof a main guide rail having a short rail length parallel with the wallof the shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith and spaced therefromwithin the shaft and terminating adjacent the sill and the lintel of thedoor opening respectively, and oblique connect ing rail lengths,supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill and the lintel of the dooropening, each consisting of a short rail length arranged in the samevertical plane as the short rail length of said main rail, and anoblique section extending substantially parallel with the adjacentoblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths of the mainrail at each door opening being spaced away from the long rail lengthsat adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in said main railbetween adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms arranged in saidgap's respectively, and fixed in relation to said main and saidsupplemental guide rails, a guide shoe at each side of each of said doorsections co-operating with the adjacent supplemental guide rail, switchmechanism and long length of guide rail beyond said gap, consisting ofoppositely disposed flanges spaced apart to receive said supplementalguide rail, said flanges being respectively inclined obliquely to thevertical with the opposite ends thereof projecting in oppositedirections and extended beyondthe end of the other flange to a vpositionto ensure the engagement of one of said flanges with said switchmechanism and the main or the supplemental guide rail, according to thedirection of movement of the door, and a second. guide slice on eachside of each of said door sections, consisting of oppositely disposedspaced guide flanges having surfaces there on parallel with said shortand said long rail lengths, and spaced surfaces thereon substantiallyparallel with the oblique sections connecting said long and said shortrail lengths.

13. An elevator door embodying therein? a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along oppositesides, of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail havinga short rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel there with and spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail, and an oblique section extendingsubstantially parallel with the oblique length of the main rail, saidlong rail length of the mainrail having a gap formed therein adjacentsaid supplemental guide rail, and a switch mechanism including thereintwo short rail lengths in said gap extending in substantial alinementwith the end of said oblique section of said supplemental guide rail,and the oblique section of a supplemental guide rail at an adjacent dooropening, and between said oblique sections respectively, and theadjacent ends of said long rail lengths of the main guide rail at saidadjacent door openings respectively, a guide shoe at each side of saiddoor sec tion co-operating with the adjacent supplemental guide rail.switch mechanism and long length of guide rail beyond said gap,consisting of oppositely disposed flanges spaced apart to receive saidsupplementalguide rail, said flanges being respectively inclinedobliquely to the vertical with the opposite ends thereof projecting inopposite directions and extended beyond the end of the other flange to aposition to ensure the engagement of one of said flanges with saidswitch mechanism and the main or the supplemental guide rail, accordingto the direction of movement of the door, and a second guide shoe oneach side of the door section consisting of oppositely disposed spacedguide flanges having surfaces thereon parallel with said short and saidlong rail lengths, and spaced surfaces thereon substantially parallelwith the oblique sections connecting said long and said short raillengths.

14. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sections, guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaftupon opposite sidesof each door opening in the shaft, each consisting ofa wall angle extending vertically of the shaft and having securedthereto a main guide rail having a short rail length. parallel with thewall of the shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith and spacedtherefrom within the shaft and terminating adj acent the sill and thelintel. of the door opening respectively. and oblique connecting raillengths, supplemental. guide rails adjacent the sill and the lintel ofthe door opening, each consisting of. a short rail length armovement ofranged in the same vertical plane as the short rail length of said mainrail, and an oblique section extending substantially parallel with theadjacent oblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths ofthe main rail at each door opening being spaced away from the long raillengths at adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in said mainrail between adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms arranged insaid gaps respectively, and fixed in relation to said main and saidsupplemental guide rail, means carried by each of said dOOr sections,projecting across the edges of said wall angle and said rail lengthsrespectively, said wall angle adjacent said short rail length and saidoblique sections being cut away to permit movement of said meansadjacent said rail lengths. and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottomof each of said door sections at each side thereof, the upper guide shoeof one of said sections and the lower guide shoe of the other of saidsections, cooperating only with the adjacent supplemental. guide rail,switch mechanism and a long length of guide rail at an adjacent dooropening beyond said gap, and the other guide shoe on the same side ofsaid door sections cooperating only with the adjacent main guide rail.

15. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sec tions, guide rail structures extending ver tically of ashaft upon opposite sides of each door opening in the shaft, eachconsisting of a wall angle extending vertically of the shaft and havingsecured thereto a main guide rail having a short rail length parallelwith the wall of the shaft, long rail lengths par- 1 allel therewith andspaced therefrom within the shaft and terminating adjacent the sill andthe lintel of the door opening respectively, and oblique connecting raillengths,

supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill 1 and the lintel of the dooropening, each consisting of a short rail length arranged in the samevertical plane as the short rail length of said main rail, and anoblique section extending substantially parallel with the ad jacentoblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths of the mainrail at each door opening being spaced away from the long rail lengthsat adjacent openings above and below. to form gap in said. main railietween adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms arranged in saidgaps respect tively. and fixed in relation to said main and saidsupplemental guide rail, means carried by each of said door sections,projecting across the edges of said wall angle and said rail. lengthsrespectively, said wall angle adjacent said short rail length and saidoblique sections being cut away to permit said means adjacent said raillengths, stops carried by said wall angle in the path of movement of themeans carried by the lower door section, and a truck bar supplementalguide rail, switch mechanism:

and a long length of guide rail at an adjacent door opening beyond saidgap, and the other guide shoe on the same side of said door sectionsco-operating only with the adjacent main guide rail.

16. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sections, flexible connections between said sections, andsheaves about which said flexible connections pass, said sheaves havingtheir axes extending parallel with the wall of the shaft adjacent thedoor opening, guide rail structures extending vertically of the shaftupon opposite sides of each door opening in the shaft, each consistingof a main guide rail having a short rail length parallel with the wallof the shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith and spaced therefromwithin the shaft and terminating adjacent the sill and the lintel of thedoor opening respectively, and oblique connecting rail lengths,supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill and the lintel of the dooropening, each con sisting of a short rail length arranged in the samevertical plane as the short rail length of said main rail, and anoblique section ex tending substantially parallel with the adjacentoblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths of the mainrail at each door opening being spaced away from the long rail lengthsat adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in said main railbetween adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms arranged in saidgaps respectively, and fixed in relation to said main and saidsupplemental guide rails, and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottom ofeach of said door sections at each side thereof, the upper guide shoe ofone of said sections and the lower guide shoe of the other of saidsections, cooperating only with the adjacent supplemental guide rail,switch mechanism and a long length of guide rail at an adjacent dooropening beyond said gap, and the other guide shoe on the same side ofeach of said door sections cooperating only with the adjacent main guiderail.

17. An elevator door embodying therein two oppositely and verticallymovable sections, guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaftupon opposite sides of each door opening in the shaft, each consistingof a wall angle extending vertically of the shaft and having securedthereto a main guide rail having a short rail length parallel with thewall of the shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith and spacedtherefrom within the shaft and terminating adjacent the sill and thelintel of the door opening respectively, and oblique connecting raillengths, supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill and the lintel ofthe door opening, each consisting of a short rail length arranged in thesame vertical plane as the short rail length of said main rail, and anoblique section extending substantially parallel with the adjacentoblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths of the mainrail at each door opening being spaced away from the long rail lengthsat adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in said main railbetween adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms arranged in saidgaps respectively, and fixed in relation to said main and saidsupplemental guide rail, means carried by each of said door sections,projecting across the edges of said wall angle and said rail lengthsrespectively, flexible connections between said means respectively,sheaves about which said flexible connections pass, the axes of saidsheaves being parallel with. the wall of the shaft adjacent the dooropening, said wall angle adjacent said short rail length and saidoblique sections being cut away to permit movement of said means adjacent said rail lengths, and guide shoes adjacent the top and bottom ofeach of said door sections at each side thereof, the upper guide shoe ofone of said sections and the lower guide shoe of the other of saidsections, co-operating only with the adjacent supplemental guide rail,switch mechanism and a long length of guideirail at an adjacent dooropening beyond said gap, and the other guide shoe on the same side ofsaid door section co-operating only with the adj acent main guide rail.

18. An elevator door embodying therein a vertically movable section,guide rail structures extending vertically of a shaft along oppositesides of the door opening, each consisting of a main guide rail having ashort rail length parallel with the wall of the shaft, a long raillength parallel therewith and spaced therefrom within the shaft, and anoblique connecting rail length, a supplemental guide rail consisting ofa short rail length arranged in the same vertical plane as the shortrail length of said main rail, and an oblique section extending sub-'door co-operating only with the section of said supplemental guiderail, and between same and the end of said long rail length of the mainguide rail at an adjacent door opening, said short rail length and theadjacent ends of said long rail length of the door opening in the shaft,each consisting of a main guide rail having a short rail length parallelwith the wall of the shaft, long rail lengths parallel therewith andspaced therefrom within the shaft and terminating adjacent the sill andthe lintel of the door opening respectively, and oblique connecting raillengths, supplemental guide rails adjacent the sill and the lintel ofthe dooropening, eacli consisting of a short rail length arranged in thesame vertical plane as the short rail length of said main rail, and anoblique section extending substantially parallel withrthe adjacentbblique rail length of the main rail, the long rail lengths of the mainrail at each door opening being spaced away from the long rail lengthsat adjacent openings above and below, to form a gap in said main railbetween adjacent door openings, and switch mechanisms including thereinrespectively two short ra il lengths in said gap extending insubstantial alinement with the end of said oblique section of saidsupplemental guide rail, and the oblique section of a supplemental guiderail at an adjacent door opening, and between said oblique sectionsrespectively, and the adjacent ends of said long rail lengths of themain guide rail at said adjacent door openings respectively, guide shoesat each side of each of said door sections cooperating with theadjacent'supplemental guide rail, switch mechanism and long length ofguide rail beyond said gap, each of said shoes consisting of oppositelydisposed flanges spaced apart to receive said supplemental guide rail,said flanges being respectively inclined obliquely to the vertical withthe opposite ends thercof projecting in opposite directions and extendedbeyond the end of the other flange to a position to ensure theengagement of one of said flanges with said switch mechanism and themain or the supplemental guide rail, according to the direction ofmovement of the sec tion, and a second guide shoe on each side of eachdoor section consisting of oppositely disposed spaced guide flangeshaving surfacesthereon parallel with said short and said long raillengths, and spaced surfaces thereon substantially parallel with theoblique sections connecting said long and said short rail lengthsi' Inwitness whereof I have hereunto affixed 7 my signature, the presence oftwo subscribing witnesses, this 6th day of December, 1922.

RoBERT s. PEELLE.

lVitnesses: 7

F. T. Wnn'rwon'rrr. FRIEDA KonHLnn.

